With advanced warning that the heating system was broken at Cabot's venue we all turned up suitably equipped for a cold night of chess. Well, at least half the team got there on time. James, Neil and I got stuck in heavy traffic at the bottom of Fishponds Road, but our hosts sportingly waited for us. With all the games underway we settled in for a tough night. Neil, hoping for revenge from his previous game with Richard, soon found his opponent openly playing for a draw swapping pieces at every opportunity, and it wasn't long before a result was agreed and they retired to the warmth of the bar.
On board 3 Alistair played an aggressive line against James' Scotch which he appeared to navigate successfully into the middle game. Then suddenly James pushed his h-pawn to start an attack leaving his g-pawn en prise. A couple of moves later and the g-pawn was gone the f-pawn was hanging and James' Queen was under threat from a Knight that also threatened to fork his rooks. With the prospect of being 2 pawns down and the potential to lose a rook exchange James resigned and we were 1 point down.
After a fairly even opening on board 4, Richard and Alistair's game came down to knights and-pawns and was looking to be another draw. However, a mistake by Alistair allowed Richard to isolate one of his pawns. Alistair then sacrificed his Knight in an attempt to open the way for his pawns, but Richard was able to cover the threat leaving him a piece and a passed-pawn up and the game was won, we were level again.
The three remaining games were all looking fairly tight. After not playing the opening very well in my game a flurry of exchanges on e5 gave me a cramped position and Mike doubled-pawns. A few failed attacks, and a missed opportunity for Mike to fork my Queen and rook, and I managed to get a passed-pawn at the expense of some pressure from doubled rooks. Mike was able to win a-pawn but at the expense of more doubled-pawns on the a file. I exchanged two pieces for a rook and-pawn, and it started to look like the game might be drawn, however I was getting low on time. I left Mike a poisoned-pawn and to my relief he took it losing his knight. A swap of queens and I was left with rook against bishop and a clear passed-pawn. Because of my time issues Mike made me play it out but the game was won. We were 1 up and just needed draws on the top two boards.
Andrew's game looked even after a strange opening and a draw offer was declined by Neil. A few moves later and Andrew lost an exchange and was now fighting to stay in the game. Neil missed a chance to win a bishop, and with it probably the game. On board 1 the opening finished even with both players having solid positions. Robert found a combination of exchanges that won him a-pawn, but cost a lot of time. It looked like Alex may still be able to force a draw or even win on time. What followed was described by those who saw it as a masterclass in end game play as Robert successfully pressed home his advantage winning with only seconds left. With the match won Neil agreed a draw with Andrew despite his obvious advantage in pieces.
A successful night at the colosseum, and one step closer to the title. South Bristol next, and a match that now might just decide division 3.